


Dreaming of the Dawn

by loveiscosmicsin



Series: Hymn of Stars and Blood (Secret Santa Gifts & IgNoct Drabbles) [5]
Category: FF15, FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy 15, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Domestic IgNoct, FFXV Post-Game, IgNoct, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Older IgNoct, Post-Canon, They're a little married already, winter themed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-19 04:05:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13115655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveiscosmicsin/pseuds/loveiscosmicsin
Summary: Post-canon Noctis (or should I say Post-Episode Ignis canon as of December 13th 2017?) and Ignis visit the old apartment building. A spontaneous decision led by another, they would always be at each other's side no matter the outcome.Inspired by this tweet thread by titansatemysoul: https://twitter.com/nokuigu/status/930533797438816257Written with her permission. I love the headcanon and how well now it fits better than ever.





	Dreaming of the Dawn

**Author's Note:**

  * For [titansatemysoul](https://archiveofourown.org/users/titansatemysoul/gifts).



_“In all the world, there is no heart for me like yours. In all the world, there is no love for you like mine.”_  
\- Maya Angelou  


-

  
“What do you see?”  
  
“I...” Noctis struggled to articulate the view. “It’s different. And in much better shape than I thought it’d be.”  
  
Before the attack on the Crown City, there used to be a grand wisteria tree that grew in the centre of the courtyard. The very same tree where Ignis parked his car under one day in spring and found it overwhelmed by the fallen flowers. While Ignis lamented over retracting the roof, Noctis made no comment and compelled by some adventitious force, reached out to pluck the lavender blue blossom from the chamberlain’s chestnut locks and innocently, “You look so good in purple, Ig.”  
  
What remained of the tree now was a dead charred stump with its years before it was cut prematurely engraved in it, but beside it, two saplings had sprouted from the icy, withered ground.  
  
“Does it look safe to go inside?” Ignis asked, readjusting the plum scarf around his neck and removing the frosted visor over his scarred face.  
  
“Yeah,” Noctis forced the lump in his throat down. “Just... a lot to take in at once.”  
  
“Then we have little to fear.” Ignis pressed a gloved finger to his lips, pensive before cocking his head assertively. “May I remind you that it was your idea to come to this place? We mustn’t drift from the goal now.”  
  
Whether Ignis was aware or felt exhausted hearing it time and time again, Noctis knew he was right. It was his idea and stopping halfway would be unsatisfactory to the both of them.  
  
With one hand holding the bag containing their lunch and the other finding catharsis from the emanating warmth of Ignis’ hand, Noctis led him inside the building. Despite its haunted and somber exterior, he can’t help but to feel relief to finally approach this piece of his past.  
  
Electricity was one of the vital resources that withstood the passages of time and underground conduits extended to all parts of the city. The apartment complex was no exception. The elevators responded when summoned and lifted the two men to the top floor.  
  
Noctis had lived in Insomnia Tower when he was fifteen and had vacated the premises five years later for Altissia. For a time, he lived a normal life and his duties as crown prince were lenient, but at the cost of being kept out of the loop of his father’s failing health. Death had followed the young prince since the beginning. Succession to the throne meant his father’s death and the frailty of his own mortality and it drove him to distance from anything and anyone that reminded him of it.  
  
“Well?” Ignis turned his head after Noctis got them inside the apartment, waiting for the grand tour he had been promised. “Don’t keep me in suspense.”  
  
“I’ll, uh, let me get the lights.” Noctis hit the switch by the entrance and light flooded the hall leading to the living room and kitchen. “Abandoned,” he paused, holding his breath to stop himself from sneezing. “And pretty dusty. Watch out.”  
  
“Duly noted.”  
  
Noctis swore he heard an eye roll with that.  
  
Ignis removed his gloves and carefully tucked them away in his pocket before feeling his way against the walls, tracing cracks and peeling wallpaper. “It’s rather drafty here, wouldn’t you say? I fear we’ll catch our death of cold.”  
  
The king agreed, it was musty and freezing inside, but he didn’t have the heart to let a gentleman suffer. “I can think of a couple ways to keep warm.”  
  
“Not so fast, Majesty. See if we can heat this room up a bit.”  
  
The power still worked, but it was too much to hope that the heating system would as well. They would just have to endure. Curiosity was the best cure to keeping minds off the cold. Ignis was more eager about coming here than he showed, examining the condition of the interior and making comments every now and then.  
  
Save for the cupboards, counters, and appliances bolted down, the apartment was stripped bare. Not a single piece of furniture remained. Not even the bed frames in the main bedroom and guest room.  
  
Noctis walked around the living room, the floorboards reverberated and eerily welcomed its visitors. He mostly remembered where everything was and the accidents that occurred.  
  
Every spot, though the physical markers long gone, carried fragments of his closest relationships. By the veranda, Cogsworth, a resilient house plant he received from Iris, was either swollen from excessive watering or went through days without a drop of water. Taking advantage of their strongest to weakest subjects, Prompto and Noctis had intense study sessions on the couch, comparing answers in preparation for exams with lots of junk food involved. Not taking no for an answer, Gladiolus had always came over with a deck of cards and despite the bitter taste of defeat more rounds than victory, somehow, became life lessons about decision making. Noctis had kept the red leather notebook that he used to write to Luna in a bookshelf, sending trading cards and limited edition stickers her way, knowing she loved collecting them. And Ignis, no matter what kind of day Noctis was having after school or work, the chamberlain had one of the vinyl records in the collection playing and a home-cooked meal waiting, starting a tradition that he would wait until they were able to eat together.

  
Deciding to head to the veranda, Noctis noticed that the velvet curtains swayed as if possessed, and pulled them wide open. Many times a young prince stood outside and stared out to the metropolis that he was to inherit, a myriad of thoughts plagued him. Insomnia at night had life, a cacophonous and yet, harmonious energy to that was easy to lose himself in. He was part of the city as it was of him. He wasn’t the prince, he was just Noctis and it was okay to forget for a while.    
  
“Found what’s making the place cold.” There was a massive crack in the window and it allowed gentle gusts of air to come through. “I wonder who lived here after we left. If there was a somebody,” he pondered aloud. If someone did, maybe they saw Insomnia differently than he did.  
  
“Best not to ponder over less than savory thoughts.” Ignis said, close by, assessing the kitchen and finding that the facet ran dry.

  
“Yeah, you’re right. Having fun yet?”  
  
“I was just recalling our game nights. How far a man would go to get the last slice of pizza.”

  
“Those were the days.” The king agreed, remembering the best and cheapest pizza on the block.  
  
Through the best and worst days, Noctis treasured those memories. Ignis didn’t live with him, he stayed over often, and it was perfect even if it was only overnight and having to leave before Noctis woke up. Knowing that it wouldn’t last, the young prince pretended that they would live here forever without the burden of the royal family name looming over them. A futile and foolish fantasy.  
  
A few weeks after he survived the blood prophecy, Noctis knew not what to do next. He had no plan. No goal. Death was the last and only plan, he entrusted Lucis to his retinue and allies. Since then, rebuilding was the only thing he managed to stay focused on. He bore no weight on his own future.  
  
Ignis believed in him. Blind loyalty, he claimed, but Noctis knew better: Ignis never once lost the light in his eyes.  
  
“Shall we take a break? I’m feeling a bit peckish.”  
  
Noctis wasn’t done looking around and while they could always return, he hadn’t been fully truthful to Ignis that he informed the others that they were here. There was something here to be uncovered and he thought if he didn’t have the answer, Ignis might provide input.  
  
“You sure? There’s nowhere to sit.”  
  
“We’ll settle for the floor then.”  
  
The king and the strategist sat on the floor across each from other where the dining table used to be, and dined on what contents Noctis brought in the bag.  
  
“What kind of sandwich—”  
  
“PB and J,” Noctis answered cheerfully with his mouth full.  
  
“Of course.” Ignis chuckled as he bit into his sandwich. “Compliments to the chef as always.”  
  
“I know my way ‘round a jar or two,” the king replied, licking the peanut butter off his digits.  
  
They ate their food in comfortable silence and tidied up before resuming to the investigation of the apartment together.  
  
“We’ve achieved much in the past several months,” Ignis remarked, joining Noctis at the veranda. “The progress of repairs in the Citadel have exceedingly gone beyond expectations.”  
  
“It’s because everyone’s been so willing to help,” Noctis explained, giving credit where credit was due. “Men, women, even the kids pitched in. Everyone’s giving their all.”  
  
“They’ve been inspired by their king and his trusty pickaxe, toiling away to clear the rubble with his own two hands. It sounds like a folktale, given your new honorific as the Dawn-Bringer.” The strategist crossed his arms. “Let’s turn our attention to this place next.”  
  
“Huh? Didn’t know we’re playing real estate now. You sure love taking your roleplaying seriously.”  
  
“Come now, it’s more of a personal interest. I thought we ought to restore what memories we can.”  
  
“We can always make new ones, right?”  
  
“Is that not what we’re doing now?”  
  
“Yeah, but...”  
  
Noctis’ mind painted of what used to be there. Yes, it was where he lived, precarious circumstances aside, but it wasn’t home. Home was in the people, not the place. In a way, his heart moved out when Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis helped him pack that day.  
  
If he were asked to provide a definition of home, Ignis’ smiling at him was the thought that came to mind. Since the first moment Ignis breathed his name in absolution, Noctis had thought of the future even when the universe fought so viciously to deny him of it.  
  
Ignis had never left Noctis’ side. When Noctis returned from his time in the Crystal, he had thought Ignis would treat him as a stranger and after all that time, the strategist would have a change of heart. It was a cruel reality that he was ready to accept, ten years was more than enough time for a person to change. He was glad he was wrong.  
  
Nothing changed.  
  
“Noct?”  
  
“Back when you, we, had our doubts about how this would turn out, I promised you that every morning when you wake up, you’ll never regret being with me, right?”  
  
“Of course. I never regretted you or us, cherishing the time we have together.”  
  
“And we agreed to one day going to Caem and locking ourselves in a cottage for a week. Finally get that peace and quiet we talked about.”  
  
“Mhm. After Insomnia’s rebuilt. Not before,” Ignis reminded him of that condition for good measure. “You were quite persistent that I wear that swimsuit when we both know how inappropriate it is for harvesting mussels.”  
  
“Hey, hunting for seafood is your idea, not mine.” The king realized that the conversation was starting to go off-track and revealed the first five words without hesitation, “Ignis, will you marry me?”  
  
Ignis’ eye widened and his body stiffened for a moment. He made a sound as if the puzzle pieces in his ever-calculating mind have finally clicked in place. “Are you...”  
  
Noctis took Ignis’ left hand and his lips caressed the knuckles, unable to look at his face while his own warmed. “I... don’t have a ring. Yet. But I can ask this again when I do.” A soft, rueful laugh escaped him as his forehead touched Ignis’ chest. He didn’t have a speech prepared, but that didn’t mean the desire to spend his life with the man he loved wasn’t without certainty. “Not once we talked about this, but in my head, I see us tying the knot already and it always felt so right. So... You don’t have to give me an answer now. Just think about it.”  
  
Draping an arm around him, Ignis rested his chin on the king’s crown, his voice unexpectedly low that it raised goosebumps. “That won’t be necessary.” His chest rose and fell once with ecstatic conviction. “Nothing would make me happier.”  
  
Noctis’ heart thundered in his chest at the vagueness of that answer. “Do you—”

“I do.”  
  
“Wait, you didn’t let me finish,” the king frowned, untangling himself from the strategist’s embrace. “Is that a yes or a no?”  
  
Ignis tilted his head, a teasing smirk on his lips. “I didn’t wish to waste a single second to give you my answer. Twice. And yet, you certainly love to keep me waiting.” His fingers twined in Noctis’. “You may not realize this, but the thought about marriage has crossed my mind. I swore to love you until the last star in the galaxy is extinguished, have I not?” He said, bringing Noctis’ palm to his lips, adding, “I aim to keep my vow.”

  
The king pouted, tracing the thin scar on the lower lip. “You could’ve said something.”

 

“Patience is a virtue. I can account that the quality of is quite rewarding. Your spontaneous proposal caught me by surprise.”

  
“If anyone asks, it’s because of your ‘patience’ that we’re not married right now.”  
  
“Perhaps,” Ignis admitted and he reached out with his free hand to stroke Noctis’ cheek. “However, I will tell you this once more and for as many times as need be: I do.”

  
Noctis grinned, standing on his toes as he circled his arms around Ignis. He could never get sick of hearing those words. There were many ways to express their love and those two words were enough for now.

 

“I do, too,” he murmured before he kissed him.

 

With every atom of his existence and all the light that shined on their world.

**Author's Note:**

> Noctis and Ignis announce their engagement to their loved ones and the world 
> 
> Everyone: *pretends to be shocked*
> 
> Annnd that’s the end to the second IgNoct proposal fic I’ve written. Thanks for reading!  
> Wisterias symbolize good luck, welcoming someone to a new town or home, and serious devotion to a cause or another person, etc. Seems fitting for them, I think, it was the start of their countless partnerships and new transitions on the road they walked together.


End file.
